


Shadows Vs Light

by CrazyNights



Series: Hell in the Shadows [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, Season 2, They're more than friends they're family, This group's dynamic could have been amazing, close friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29900463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyNights/pseuds/CrazyNights
Summary: It's the new year for our heroes, can they have a normal year? Or will the curse continue and drag them into more drama and battles for the fate of the world? Stick around and follow their journey through another year of Duel Academy.
Relationships: Marufuji Ryou | Zane Truesdale/Tenjouin Fubuki | Atticus Rhodes
Series: Hell in the Shadows [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2198541
Comments: 9
Kudos: 7





	1. Surprise Recommendation

CHAPTER ONE: SURPRISE RECOMMENDATION

The massive amount of students showing up for the new year at Duel Academy all stood at the front of the Academic building. Atticus Rhodes and Zane Truesdale stood next to Chancellor Sheppard as the new students started to line up. Both of them smiled at one another and shook their heads in tandem at Sheppard’s enthusiasm.

“All right everyone, quiet down. I know you are all very excited for the start of this new year, but I have a couple of announcements to make.” The sounds of chatter quickly dissipated and Sheppard smiled jovially. “Now you all will be given your color jackets, and these will tell you what dorm you will be in. The colors are Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and finally Obelisk Blue. Once you have your jackets, you may spend the day exploring the island and your dorms. Now I have high expectations for all of you and I wish you all the best on your new year.”

With that Sheppard directed the new students to the instructors standing up there with him. Zane wore a light blue jacket that looked like his white one in the right light. Pharaoh was lounging across his shoulders as he handed out jackets and welcome packets. Many students were enthralled with Zane and Pharaoh and the sight they made. His line seemed longer than the others, which amused Atticus to no end.

Once the last student had gotten their welcome packet and jacket, all the instructors were left with Chancellor Sheppard. Looking around at the instructors in front of him, Sheppard nodded in thanks and smiled.

“I appreciate all the help today. This went much smoother than it did last year, even with the influx of students. So I would like for you all to be on call for the dorms in case the new students have any questions. Otherwise, please enjoy yourselves today,” Sheppard said with a smile. 

His gaze went to where both Zane and Atticus were standing. They were side by side, and their eyes on his. They both were wearing a very light blue jacket in similar styles of their respective white jackets. Pharaoh had moved from Zane’s shoulders to sit in front of his feet. The backs of their hands brushed, and Sheppard knew it was to keep professionalism.

“Truesdale, Rhodes, you two wanted to speak with me?” Sheppard asked. He remembered the message from both of them. They looked at one another in surprise, before nodding their heads at Sheppard. “Well then, shall we go to my office?”

The three of them began walking to Sheppard’s office. Sheppard was in front of them, and the two new instructors behind him. They shared a look, and wondered what the other wanted to speak to Sheppard about.

“Everything ok?” Atticus asked.

“Yeah, I just want to mention something to Sheppard. I’m wondering if you had the same idea,” Zane responded. Pharaoh padded along next to him, nose in the air.

“If it’s about a certain former first year, now second year… then yep,” Atticus laughed as the two of them followed Sheppard into the office.

Sheppard walked over to his long desk and sat down in the leather chair. He leaned back and smiled at two of his favorite people. His large eyes crinkled at the edges. His eyes went from one to the other, waiting for one of them to speak.

“I want to discuss something about Jaden,” Zane said suddenly.

Atticus nodded his head. “Same here, guess the both of us were thinking the same thing.”

Sheppard raised an eyebrow and grinned. He leaned forward and linked his fingers together in front of his face. A smile tugged at his lips, he had noticed how both men in front of him had taken a liking to the overactive Slifer.

“Well then, tell me what you want to discuss. Maybe we can reach an agreement,” Sheppard replied.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Jaden and Syrus were walking around the Ra Yellow grounds. Syrus was promoted to Ra Yellow at the beginning of the year, and Jaden was ecstatic for him. Inside however he felt slightly down, he was alone at the Slifer Dorm. Even with the help from Zane and Atticus, he hadn’t passed the final with a high enough grade to make it to Ra Yellow.

“Jay, I don’t feel right leaving you at the Slifer dorm,” Syrus said again. He was dressed in a yellow blazer, his light blue eyes looking at Jaden carefully.

Jaden shook his head, and forced the smile. He remembered their first year when he himself had passed up a promotion to Ra Yellow to stay with Syrus and Chumley. But he wasn’t letting Syrus do that in return. His shorter friend had busted his behind to make it up a level and he was proud to know him and see the growth.

“Sy, I told you! You earned this, you busted your butt for this and now you have it. I couldn’t be more happy or proud of you if I wanted. This-”

“Attention students, would Jaden Yuki please report to my office? Jaden Yuki, report to my office immediately. Thank you,”Chancellor Sheppard’s voice echoed.

Jaden went sheet white and looked at Syrus. He was freaking out, it was the first day! He hadn’t done anything yet to warrant getting into trouble. His wide brown eyes looked at Syrus, whose blue eyes reflected the same worry.

“Want me to come with you Jay?” Syrus offered.

“No… no, I’ll be fine. I didn’t do anything, maybe it’s something good. Who knows, I could be promoted to Obelisk,” Jaden joked. With a wave to his friend, he walked away.

Putting his hands in the pockets of his light colored pants pockets, he walked to the academic building. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. Why was Chancellor Sheppard calling him to his office? Blowing out a breath, he ran his hands over his brown hair and messed it up even more. While his mind was racing, his feet carried him into the building and he stood directly in front of Sheppard’s office door.

Sucking in a steadying breath, he knocked on the metal door. He waited until Sheppard gave the order to enter. Doing so, he walked in and saw Chancellor Sheppard standing behind his desk, hands behind his back and eyes gleaming.

“Ah, thank you for coming Mr. Yuki,” Sheppard said.

“Uh… yeah sure…” Jaden replied unsure. He stepped up to the other side of the desk, and noticed a box on it.

“Now, you’re probably wondering why I’ve called you here.”

“Well, a little. I haven’t done anything to get me in trouble,” Jaden said. He ran a nervous touch over the hem of his Slifer Red jacket.

Sheppard’s eyes widened and he laughed. “Oh my boy, you aren’t in any trouble. Quite the opposite actually. I have a surprise for you.” His hand reached from behind his back and gestured to the box on his desk. “Open it.”

Jaden looked from the school Chancellor to the box again and reached out. Taking the box, he noticed it was the size of a shirt box. Pulling back the lid, he opened it and went wide eyed. Inside was a white blazer, with a raised collar and blue trim. He dropped the box and held the jacket out in front of him. It was shorter than he remembered Zane or Atticus wearing, it was about waist length and the ends flared slightly.

“What…” Jaden trailed off as he looked from the jacket to Sheppard.

“Well you see, even though your scores weren’t the top, your dueling has been from day one. And your final scores were much higher than any of those you had last year. Since both Truesdale and Rhodes are no longer students, you are the top duelist we have. You proved it many times last year. So both of them recommended you for the school’s top spot and I had to agree. It’s contingent on you getting your grades up, but they agreed to help you.”

Sheppard smiled as the former Slifer looked from him to the jacket again. He looked like an excited child, wanting what was in front of him, but afraid to take it. Walking around he took the jacket and held it out for Jaden.

“Go on, slide the red jacket off and put this one on,” Sheppard said gently.

With stilted movements, Jaden slid his red jacket off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He then stepped forward and slid his arms in the white jacket Sheppard was holding out. Once that was done, Sheppard stepped back and took a seat behind his desk.

Jaden turned around and looked at himself. The jacket was still unzipped and you could see his dark shirt. Running trembling hands over the jacket, his wide eyes lifted to Sheppard once again.

“Is this real? I seriously get this jacket?” Jaden asked. His voice was so quiet, it was a shock as Jaden was not known to be quiet.

“You do, it’s in a bylaw of Duel Academy. After all this school is about teaching dueling and your skills are second to none among our students this year. Your duel against Kagemaru and the Graduation Match against Atticus displayed that. I am pleased to give you that jacket, just as I was pleased to give it to Truesdale and Rhodes their first year.”

Jaden smiled, but stilled for a moment. A thought crossed his mind, he thought about the picture Atticus showed him last year. “What about Yusuke Fujiwara?”

Sheppard’s eyes widened. “How do you know about Fujiwara?”

“I kinda met him against the duel with Banner. But Atticus told me not to mention him, since it can cause Zane some serious pain apparently. I don’t want to do that, so I haven’t said anything. But he had a jacket like this too right?” Jaden questioned again.

Blowing out a breath, Sheppard sank further into the chair and rubbed his face. “Yes, Yusuke Fujiwara was the other member of their group. He had grades that were near perfection. I remember seeing them and was happy to see their friendship.”

“Man, this stinks… I wish we could help him, but when I think I met him he looked like he was controlled by the same thing that controlled Zane. It had the same power.” Jaden ran his hands over the sleeves of his new jacket. He couldn’t stop himself from doing it, it still didn’t feel real.

Sheppard smiled. “Well, put Fujiwara out of your mind for today, nothing can be done at the moment. Enjoy your first day of your second year. Go find your friends, and get your things moved to your new room.” He waved his hands in a ‘shooing’ motion to the door.

Jaden grinned and looked down at himself. “Do I have to zip it up?” His eyes went to Sheppard, the clean, buttoned up look wasn’t his style.

Throwing his head back, Sheppard laughed at his question. “I tell you what, since I let the three before you pick a style… that can be yours.”

“Thanks!” Jaden exclaimed. “One more question and then I’m out of here. Where are Atticus and Zane?”

“I believe they were out walking. Instructors have the day off as do the students. Their link numbers are the same, so if you got them last year you should be able to find them,” Sheppard responded.

“Thanks Chancellor Sheppard! You’re the best!” With that exclamation, Jaden turned on his heel and grabbed the red jacket on the floor, took off running.

Sheppard looked at the retreating figure and smiled. He hoped that this year, they all would get a much needed break. The group of seven held too much weight and he wanted them to have a peaceful year.

Jaden tore out of the academic building and was pulling his link out of his pocket. Standing outside against the pillars at the entrance, he quickly sent out a text to Syrus. Asking where he was. Syrus responded quickly saying he was in Jaden’s room at the Slifer dorm.

Grinning, Jaden took off in that direction and used all his hyper energy to run there. People stared at him, confused as to why he was in a white jacket. He figured rumors were going to start flying soon, and he wanted his best friend to know it from him. Thinking about it, he knew he would have to text Alexis, Bastion and Chazz to let them know.

Reaching the dorm, he sprinted up the steps to his room. Well now former room. Throwing the door open he walked in and saw Syrus sitting at the desk, looking through his deck. Upon hearing the door open, he turned his attention and felt his mouth gape open.

“Jay… why are you wearing a white jacket?”

“Because Zane and Atticus recommended me for the top duelist spot! I so owe them! Sheppard said that because of that, and them being willing to tutor me this year, the spot is mine!” Jaden was sucking in lungfuls of air, his manic smile never leaving.

Syrus squealed and jumped up. He grabbed Jaden and hugged him tight. He knew his best friend deserved to be the top duelist, he was amazing! The spot should obviously go to the best person, and it did!

“I’m so proud of you! This is amazing, we should celebrate!” Syrus exclaimed.

“Yeah, I want to. But I also need to go find your brother and Atticus and thank them!” Jaden grinned down at Syrus and looked around the room. “Well, this room will now be vacant. It’s kinda sad, since it was our pad for our first year.”

“Yeah, but we can still come back to hang out if we want,” Syrus suggested.

“Heck yeah! It can be our little escape, we can come and watch scary movies again here. It works better since we can hear the creaks and the window blowing,” Jaden said. He could picture it. Him and Syrus in their old dorm, with new jackets, watching scary movies on their tiny DVD player.

“Only you would think that is better,” Syrus challenged.

“Well yeah, it makes you feel as if you're part of the movie!” Jaden tried to reason. He pulled out his link, and realized he never got Zane’s number last year. “Hey Sy, could you give me your brother’s link number? I never got it last year and Sheppard said he and Atticus still had the same numbers.”

“Sure,” Syrus said as he pulled out his link and transferred the number to Jaden. “Are you going to give them a call?”

“Nope, going to text and ask where they are. I want to say thanks in person. It means so much they did this,” Jaden said. He opened a multi message and sent it to both Atticus and Zane. Smiling when they both responded that they were in Zane’s room, and sent the room number. “Let’s head to the Obelisk dorm, I want to talk to them.”

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Zane and Atticus were in the room where Zane was staying for the year. The instructor rooms were similar to those of the students, but slightly larger and felt like a full apartment. The two of them were sitting on the couch, Atticus was flipping through the channels and Zane was reading. Pharaoh was walking around the room, inspecting his new home for the year.

“Think Sheppard told Jaden?” Zane questioned as he looked at the message.

“Clearly, he paged Jaden shortly after we left,” Atticus responded. His feet were propped up on the footrest and he was nestled in the corner of the couch.

“True,” Zane chuckled as he shifted and tucked his feet under himself. Pharaoh leaped up and sat in between the two of them. Reaching over he ran a hand over the fur, and smiled when Pharaoh was purring.

“What’re ya reading?” Atticus asked. He glanced toward Zane and raised an eyebrow.

“A book on how to work through memory blocks. I still feel like I’m missing time from before I ended up in the Shadows,” Zane responded as he raised the book. “My mother did some research on the topic and spoke with a friend of hers who happens to be a psychologist.”

“I knew your mom worked in a hospital with different people. Didn’t know she knew a psychologist. You aren’t going to try forcing it are you?” Atticus asked. He narrowed his eyes, concern skirting down his spine.

“No, I’m not going to force it. But I’m going to work on this. I’m… I don’t know how to describe it. When I was outside during the Graduation Party, I thought I saw someone I knew, but I couldn’t place them. And disappeared into the night before I could ask.” His eyes took on a distant look.

“You said you thought the moon was playing tricks on you,” Atticus countered.

“I did, but something tells me that person was really there. He told me to stay safe.”

Atticus looked at him, and tried not to flinch. He had a sinking feeling it was Yusuke who was outside and appeared before Zane. Nothing would get him to say it out loud however, he wasn’t taking the chance of the demonic entity causing Zane any pain.

“Well, let’s put it out of our minds for now. It’s the first day, and we should be relaxing before the craziness of the year starts tomorrow.”

A knocking at the door had both of them looking over to it. Zane stood up and put his book on the wood coffee table in front of him. Walking over he opened the door and smiled when he saw who it was. Opening the door further, he let both Jaden and Syrus in the room.

“Come on in you two,” he welcomed.

Atticus stood up as well and walked over. Laughing, he saw Jaden in the white jacket. It was still unzipped, and the style fit him like a glove. Syrus was in a bright yellow blazer, and Atticus was proud of both of them.

“Those colors look good on you two,” Atticus complimented. He walked up and put his hands on his hips. “How does it feel Jaden, to have it be official?”

“It feels unreal! Seriously this is beyond sweet, I don’t have the words to describe it!” Jaden exclaimed and launched at Atticus to hug him.

Brown eyes widened as he wrapped his arms around Jaden and patted his back. Zane looked at them and smiled. They were similar, but apparently Jaden was even more hyperactive and tactile than Atticus. So he wasn’t the least bit surprised when he was hugged next. Jaden apparently didn’t even think, he just acted. Still the contact had him freezing for a slight moment, but he moved his hand and patted Jaden’s back the same way Atticus did.

“You earned it with your dueling Jaden. Atticus and I will help get your grades to where they need to be as well. You’ll make us both proud,” Zane replied when Jaden pulled back.

“I will, I promise to work hard at this!” Jaden was practically vibrating in place.

“Well I told Jay we should celebrate this. He made a jump from Slifer to Obelisk in a single year. Chazz doesn’t count because he was already an Obelisk before,” Syrus said.

“Ahh, come on. Don’t be so hard on Chazz dude,” Atticus laughed. “Well, send them a message and let’s all meet up for dinner tonight. We’ll do it here at the Obelisk dorm.”

“Will do, see you guys tonight!” Jaden said brightly and the two younger ones walked out of the room.

Zane closed the door behind them and shook his head. Atticus laughed and grabbing Zane’s hand, dragged him back to the couch. Both of them sank down, this time Zane nestled against Atticus’s side as he read. Turning the television back on, Atticus found a professional match and his eyes widened.

“Hey that’s Aster Phoenix,” he said with slight awe. He had respect for a kid who made it as far as he did.

On the screen was Aster standing on a dueling stage. His silver hair brushed the collar of his silver suit. His dark shirt underneath could be seen as was his white and silver tie. The entire ensemble was his signature look. Vivid blue eyes glinted in the light as he drew a card and played a spell. A smirk formed on his face, he was dominating the duel and crushing his opponent.

Zane raised his gaze for a moment and then went back to his book. “I’ve heard the name from multiple sites. Apparently he has some serious talent, glad to see.”

“You don’t sound all that impressed,” Atticus said. He glanced down at Zane and noticed he went back to his book.

The only response he received was a noncommittal sound. Laughing, he kissed Zane’s head and settled in to watch the match. Unbeknownst to him, Zane’s attention was piqued, he listened with half an ear, and watched out of the corner of his eye. Aster had skill, he couldn’t deny that. Yet the duelist was cocky, and it grated him. There was just something about Aster, and Zane didn’t like it.

Returning his attention to the book, he felt Cyber End Dragon send warmth through their connection. Something was making it restless, and Zane wondered if he needed to find a way to help it. Glancing at Pharaoh, an idea came to him.

“Just a heads up, I’m not talking to you,” he said.

“What did I do?” Atticus complained.

“No, not like that. I’m going to ask a question, but it’s not directed at you,” Zane replied. He patted the hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t do anything.”

“Oh, you mean you want to ask something and see if Banner responds?” Atticus glanced down at Zane and saw him nod his head. “Alright, pretend I’m not here.”

“Is there something I can do to settle a duel spirit?” he questioned.

“There are different ways to calm a spirit. Is something wrong with Cyber End Dragon?” Banner replied. 

His form shimmered in the chair next to the couch. He looked at the two people in front of him and smiled. He was dressed in his usual white shirt and black pants. His long, black hair was still pulled back, and slightly messy. His eyes were open, but they were no longer red. He adjusted his glasses and waited for Zane to respond.

“I’m not sure. Cyber End feels restless, and normally by sending my own reassurances, that settles it. However it’s not now, and I’m worried,” Zane tried to describe.

Banner brought a hand to his chin in contemplation. “Perhaps it’s simply anxious about having you back in the place you vanished from. Try to avoid the Abandoned Dorm, that might help settle it.”

“Like I had any plans going back there,” Zane muttered.

“Going back where?” Atticus cut in. He was listening to Zane’s side of the conversation and that struck him.

“To the Abandoned Dorm. Banner told me to avoid it, as it might be why Cyber End’s so anxious about something. But it’s more than that, I don’t plan on going there.” A shudder ran through Zane’s body, and he felt Atticus hold him tighter. “I’m fine, I’m here and not going anywhere again.”

“Humor me, by letting me hold you a little tighter. I don’t want you near that old dorm either. And don’t forget, I promised your mom and dad that you wouldn’t vanish again. I seriously think your mom will kill me if you do.” A shudder of his own ran down the brunette’s spine. “For a shorter woman, she can be terrifying.”

Letting out a bark of laughter, Zane put a hand to his mouth. “I used to think that’s where Syrus got his devious side. Our mom could strike fear in anyone growing up.”

“Well now I know,” Atticus muttered.

“You’re fine. Besides, like I just said… I don’t have any plans to return there for a while,” Zane stated solemnly.

The wording caught Atticus’s attention, but he chose not to comment on it for now. Instead he went back to watching the match and his eyes were wide as Aster completely destroyed his opponent. The guy had no mercy, in fact he reminded Atticus a little of Zane. It may be a good thing they never meet, they were too similar in their styles.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The group of seven were all helping Jaden move his things into his new room that night. Everyone was shocked when they saw the brunette teen with a white jacket. Chazz’s mouth gaped open, his face flushed and he shook his head in disbelief. Bastion was a little better than Chazz. His eyes were wide, but he smiled easily. Finally Alexis laughed and gave Jaden a high five, a ‘congratulations’ coming easily.

Once Jaden was moved in and settled, they made their way to the dining area. The dorm dinners weren’t until tomorrow, so they were able to enjoy themselves. Sitting at a long table the five students and two instructors ate and laughed.

“Well, here’s to a new year. One with promise and new opportunities. Let’s make this an amazing year,” Atticus told them.

“I agree,” Zane replied. His hand ran over Pharaoh’s fur as the feline purred in his lap.

“Definitely. It’s time for all of us to get our game on! This year will be sweet,” Jaden exclaimed. His eyes glittered and he smiled at all his friends.


	2. First Duel of the New Year

CHAPTER TWO: FIRST DUEL OF THE NEW YEAR

Jaden woke up in his new dorm room, momentary panic flashing through his veins. Staring at the high ceiling and large room he blinked and remembered what happened the day before. Sheppard had given him the white jacket, promoting him to Obelisk Blue, the best duelist at the school.

He was sleeping in a large bed, and had a sitting area directly ahead of him. A couch and television, which was still on… oops. Breathing out a sigh, he threw back the covers and stood up. Stretching his arms over his head, he changed into his new uniform. Shutting off his television, he grinned. Today students were allowed to go out and duel one another.

Once he was outside his dorm, he breathed in the clean air and grinned wider. Glancing around, he saw Chazz and Alexis talking in the treeline and waved to them, making his way over.

“Chazz, Alexis. What’s up?” he called out.

Both duelists looked at him and waved back. Alexis was dressed in the Obelisk Girl’s uniform. A white tank top and blue skirt. She also wore blue fingerless gloves on her hands for a little more flare. Chazz was still in his black North Academy uniform, and no one questioned it. The outfit seemed to just fit him.

“So how’s the school’s top duelist today?” Alexis joked. She gave Jaden a shoulder bump and a smile.

“Still feeling out of it with the whole thing. It doesn’t seem real,” Jaden joked.

“Well you have a lot to live up to Slacker,” Chazz jabbed. A smirk crossed his lips and he leaned forward. “After all, the King and Kaiser gave that recommendation. Don’t let them down.”

“Uh…” Jaden trailed off as he imagined what would happen.

He could picture not doing well enough to live up to their standards. He was sitting cross legged with both Atticus and Zane standing above him. Arms crossed over their chests and narrowed eyes glaring. He felt the anger radiating from them, and it caused him to shrivel on the spot.

“Ahhhh man,” Jaden moaned and slumped to the ground. The image was permanently in his brain now.

“Chazz, be nice,” Alexis admonished. She knelt next to Jaden and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “Jaden, my brother and Zane said they would work with you this year on your schooling. Just take a breath, you’re going to be fine.”

“Totally Jaden,” Syrus said as he walked up, Bastion behind him.

Everyone looked over and saw both Ra Yellow students standing there. Jaden gave a wobbly smile at Syrus.

“Thanks Sy and Alexis, that helps.” He stood up and nodded his head at Alexis. “Chazz, I’m going to be the best! Nothing is going to stop me.”

“Glad to hear it. How about a duel then?” a surprise voice said.

Everyone turned around and saw a new student standing off to the side. He wasn’t in any of the school colors, instead he was dressed in a silver suit, with black shoes. They could see the dark shirt with the silver and white tie around his neck. His silver hair brushed the collar and was straight. Vivid blue eyes glinted at the group, a smirk played with his lips.

“Uh sure, not sure who you are. But yeah, let’s duel.” Jaden paused and laughed. Placing a hand on his chest and looked at the stranger. “Wrong catchphrase, what I meant to say was get your game on!”

“Gladly,” the stranger replied. “Let’s head down to the shore shall we?” The shorter teen turned on his heel and made his way to the shore.

“Well leave it to Jaden to get a duel this quick,” Bastion joked. “But who is this fellow?”

“Beats me… but he looks familiar,” Syrus replied. He narrowed his eyes at the new student.

Jaden and the freshman stood on the shoreline a good distance apart for the duel. Everyone else stood off to the side, eager to see this. It would be a good kick off to the year and they were looking forward to seeing how some new blood dueled.

“So what’s your name freshman?” Jaden asked. He strapped on his duel disk and slid his deck into the holder.

“You can call me AP,” he responded with a smile. Nodding his head respectfully in Jaden’s direction.

“Alright AP, let’s throw down!” Jaden replied. 

Everyone facepalmed when Jaden called him ‘app’. AP slid his disk on his arm as well, and his cards into the slot. With a small laugh, both took their stances and drew their cards. Four pairs of eyes were riveted to where the first duel of the year was taking place.

“Duel,” both exclaimed at the same time.

“You ready freshman?” Jaden called out as he looked at his cards.

“Bring it,” AP replied. 

“You know, I can’t help but feel I should know who this is,” Syrus muttered. He kept racking his brain trying to place him.

“You’re right,” Alexis replied. She crossed her arms and focused on the newcomer.

“Yeah, he does look familiar,” Chazz supplied. “I feel like I know him too.”

“Chazz, is it possible he graduated from that snooty prep school of yours?” Bastion asked with a smirk. He ran a hand over his slicked back hair as his dark eyes glanced at Chazz. Seeing him grind his teeth was priceless.

“Good call,” Syrus joked. He gave Bastion a high five and snickered. “He definitely looks rich enough, and acts stuck up enough.”

“Look here shrimps, he’s nothing like me!” Chazz fired back.

“I summon Ojama Yellow in defense mode!” AP declared his first move.

Everyone froze, and looked at Chazz. Of course the universe would do this to screw with him. Chazz nearly face planted from shock and choked on the breath of air he took. All eyes were wide as they looked at the field. Sure enough, Chazz’s duel spirit, Ojama Yellow, was kneeling down in defense mode.

“Ojama? Are you sure about that? I know one duelist that uses those cards and he’s picky about seeing anyone else with them,” Jaden said. He rubbed his head and glanced to where his friends were standing.

Chazz was fuming, Jaden could swear he saw smoke coming from his ears. “Hey, uh… guys… mind keeping an eye on Chazz? We don’t want him killing the freshman.”

“Why not?!” Chazz demanded. “It’s not like they’ll find a body!”

“Easy there Chazz, don’t blow a gasket over this,” Syrus tried to calm him down.

Huffing and crossing his arms, Chazz turned sideways. His eyes still slid back to the duel, but he was pissed and letting people know it.

“I wonder what else is in his deck?” Alexis asked.

“Not much I’m afraid,” a voice came from behind them. The group turned around and saw Ms. Dorothy walking up. “He just assembled that deck this morning. He came in looking for some cards and I gave him what we had. When I warned him about not lasting long, he said it was just a temporary deck and he needed it for a little test.”

Ms. Dorothy stood next to Syrus. She was dressed in her work uniform of a pink shirt and blue overalls held up with suspenders. Her long brown hair was braided and resting on her shoulder. Round glasses sat on her nose, and she looked at the field with worried brown eyes.

“Gimme a break! Who the hell duels with leftover cards?” Chazz sniped, his tone acidic.

“That guy?” Alexis replied sarcastically.

“Alrighty, here goes!” Jaden drew his card and looked at his hand. “It looks like class is in session, so meet your teacher. Elemental Hero Sparkman!” Jaden’s monster jumped up and electricity shot out around it. “Alright buddy, time for your first Duel Academy lesson. Some things, you just got to learn the hard way.”

With a single shot of electricity Sparkman destroyed Ojama Yellow. AP simply smiled at Jaden, not looking ruffled in the slightest. He simply put a hand behind his head and rubbed the back of it. He opened his eyes and looked at Jaden, and the rest could see derision in those blue depths. Jaden on the other hand, was oblivious as usual.

“Wow, I guess it’s true. You ARE the school’s best duelist,” AP said. The sarcasm was so obvious, it flowed like a river.

“Thanks for the props, but when you play cards like Ojama Yellow… you don’t exactly make it too tough,” Jaden laughed.

“He can’t be as dense as my brother,” Alexis muttered. Shaking her head, she placed a hand on her hip and watched them.

“Let’s try this again shall we?” He drew a card and looked down. “Soon, I’ll learn all of Jaden’s strategies. And he won’t know a single one of mine,” he thought.

Placing a facedown he was about to make another move when his phone rang. Everyone looked around in confusion. Pulling out duel links they checked to make sure it wasn’t their links ringing. When everyone was sure, they looked to the newcomer.

“What’s the deal?” Jaden asked.

“It’s cool, just my cell phone,” AP called out. He pulled out said phone and answered it. “Hello?”

Jaden began to twitch incessantly at seeing AP casually talking on the phone. He was grinding his teeth and shaking. Everyone was struggling not to laugh at Jaden, but they had to agree with him. It wasn’t cool to take a phone call in the middle of a duel, especially when you were the one in the duel!

“You alright Jay?” Syrus called out.

“NO!” Jaden whipped around and pointed an accusing finger at his opponent. “You can’t do that! You-I just- NO!” Jaden whipped back to face AP and crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.

When AP hung up the phone, Jaden glared at him. “Alright, get your phone OFF and your game ON!” Jaden demanded.

“Now then where were we?” AP asked.

“You were hopefully about to play a GOOD card?” Jaden tried.

“Oh you mean like this one? I play the spell card Reload. Here’s how it works, first I toss all my cards and put them back in my deck. I shuffle them, and redraw.” AP did just that and began shuffling his deck.

“Wait… so you're getting a do over?” Jaden questioned.

“You said it yourself, I need better cards. So I thought, I would just start over.” AP slid his deck back into the holder and grinned at Jaden. He drew his cards again.

“I knew that! Way to play,” Jaden said. He laughed nervously. “So what have you learned from this duel so far?”

AP smiled deviously at his cards and back at Jaden. “This! I activate the field spell Sanctuary in the Sky!” 

Light shot up around AP and exploded in the sky. Closing his eyes against the light, Jaden opened them to see what happened. He was standing on a cloud, a large stone building was behind AP. Glancing around, Jaden wondered why he played it.

“Next I play Warrior of Zera!” A monster appeared before him, and was suddenly encased in a white/blue light. “But here’s a little twist for you. I sacrifice it to summon Archlord Zerato!” 

The swirling wind and light shot into the sky and cleared to reveal a powerful monster, one with 2800 attack points. Green feathered wings flared from its back. A giant sword was held in one hand as the warrior floated above its master.

“And here’s something else you might not have expected. I decide to send my Mystical Shine Ball to the graveyard, and it gets to take all your monsters with it!” The glowing peak lit up more and shot a beam directly at Sparkman. Once Sparkman was gone, AP clenched a fist and pointed it at Jaden. “And now Archlord Zerato, attack his lifepoints directly, Sacred Surge!”

The monster did as ordered and Jaden was hit hard with his wing attack. 2800 points in one swoop was harsh. Everyone was stunned, this guy turned it around instantly, and with a deck full of random cards.

“That’s going to leave a mark,” Syrus whispered sympathetically. He winced when he heard Jaden grunt.

“That’s all for now,” AP said stoically. Blinking, he looked at Jaden kneeling on the ground and looked actually concerned. “Hey… are you alright?”

“Alright? You kidding?” Jaden asked with a smile as he stood up.

“Uh… no?” AP replied, more than a little confused.

“I’ve been waiting all summer for a match like this! And the best part is it’s my move.” Drawing a card, he took a quick look at his hand. “I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode.” The clay monster knelt down in defense mode, with 2000 points. “Next I play the spell card Metamorphosis. I now sacrifice my Clayman to summon my Elemental Hero Clay Guardian!”

Jaden’s new monster appeared, and Clayman got a serious upgrade. He was clad in armor and had a gold and red shield in front of him. He was still kneeling in defense mode, only this time he had 2800 defense points.

“Patrol Penalty!” Jaden called out suddenly.

“What’s that?!” AP called out. A gust of wind hit him, and blew his hair back with the force. “Tell me what that was!”

“I’d be glad to! You see, you just lost 600 points. That was 200 for every card you have on the field.” Jaden chuckled and clenched a fist. “Now, I’m throwing down a facedown and passing it back to you.”

Jaden glanced at him, and smirked. “Not a very smart thing to use up all the cards in your hand like that. Your monster’s attack points are the same as mine’s defense points. So your chances of winning are like 95%.”

“Well excuse me oh wise one, but aren’t those actually GOOD odds?” AP snapped out. The level of disdain and the condescending tone was not lost on anyone.

Jaden froze and laughed nervously. “I was just testing ya. But my point stands, still not a good thing to do using all your cards.”

“Real smooth,” Alexis muttered. She pulled out her link and sent a message to her brother. Letting him know that Jaden needed serious help in that department.

“How did that kid make it past the review board? And on top of that become the top duelist?” Chazz griped. He blew out a breath and shook his head.

“I’m not sure, but good question Chazz,” Bastion chimed in.

“All I really need is a monster that’s stronger than yours. So let’s see what fate has in store for me.”

“It’s not about ‘fate’. It’s about listening, your cards are the ones that guide you to a victory. Believe in them, and you’ll win every time,” Jaden said evenly.

“And then he has moments like that,” Syrus said with a smile. “Sometimes he says some pretty in depth things.”

“You really ARE nuts!” AP called out. His tone was so dark, it shocked everyone. “You honestly expect me to have a conversation with my cards?”

“Well maybe you can try using your cell,” Jaden fired back. Everyone froze at the comeback and exchanged looks. It was actually a good one. “Maybe you can send a text message, and they just might respond.”

Winged Kuriboh appeared on Jaden’s shoulder and cooed. Smiling Jaden closed his eyes and turned slightly, so Kuriboh could rest there. Chazz saw the scene and smiled, his friends around him saw it, but kindly didn’t comment. They were working to bring Chazz out of his protective walls, and any comment could send him back over the wall.

“This Jaden isn’t who I expected at all. He gives useless advice, can’t compute a simple math problem and to top it all off, he hears voices in his head. Guess it’s time to end this duel,” AP thought to himself.

His blue eyes strayed up the cliff and he froze. Standing at the top were two men, and they were watching the duel carefully. Both were in light blue, almost white, jackets. One had teal hair that went down his shoulders and teal eyes that assessed him, almost seeing right through him. He wore dark navy pants and his jacket had twin tails on the back. The other was brunette, with chocolate brown eyes. His black pants looked almost like shined leather. The back of his jacket flared out. His brown eyes looked at Jaden carefully.

Something told him that those two would be worth watching. Especially the one with the teal eyes and hair. While everyone here seemed to mostly be buying his act, clearly this guy didn’t. AP grinned for a moment and narrowed his eyes at Jaden.

“Remember to listen to your cards,” Jaden called out.

“Whatever,” AP muttered. He drew a card and glared down at it.

“Bad card huh?” Jaden said. “You might want to work on that poker face a bit.”

AP smiled sweetly. “Perhaps… or maybe I just WANT you to think I have a bad card. Ever think of that? Or even that I don’t want to win?”

“And you called me nuts?!” Jaden’s mouth dropped open at the implication.

“When you accepted my challenge, did you stop and ask yourself ‘why’? Why did I challenge you? Why did I come here? And most importantly, out of everyone here, why did I challenge you? I believe that this day is free dueling, so even instructors are fair game. So why would I go for a student, when I could have gone for an instructor?”

AP’s eyes slid to the two watching the duel again. He made a mental note of their appearances and knew to try and find them later. His gaze went back to Jaden and he smirked.

“Well you see, I heard you were the best and I wanted to challenge you. To give you a test,” AP finished explaining.

“Come on, you can’t be serious. Hello this is Duel ACADEMY, a school. They give us tests all the time, but I’ve never had this much fun on one,” Jaden replied. He glanced at his disk and then to his shoulder where Winged Kuriboh was sitting.

“Of course they’re not, because unlike those tests… this one’s not about grades. This one’s about destiny.” He closed his eyes and opened them on a snap. Seeing the confusion in all the faces of the students in front of him, he pointed to his facedown card. “Maybe my Beckoning Light will clear things up.”

His trap card flipped up, and AP smirked. “Here’s the deal, once I toss my hand, I can get a light attribute monster from my graveyard. Next, I use Zerato’s effect again and destroy all your monsters! So say goodbye to your guardian!” AP put the card back in the graveyard and the light blasted Clay Guardian from the field.

“Whoa, not bad,” Jaden mumbled. He looked over at his opponent.

AP was standing so still, it was eerie. “You think that’s impressive, wait until you see this. Archlord, attack him directly!” The monster launched in the air and did just that.

“Your monster’s going to have to chill out. I play my spell card, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. Which if you couldn’t tell, summons a Kuriboh.” The attack continued and Kuriboh was blasted away. “Thanks for takin’ the hit pal. Now then, what’s that talk about destiny for?”

“Simple, everything that happens to us is planned out the day we’re born,” AP replied. He looked at Jaden closely and thought about what his manager told him to do here. Blowing out a breath, he grit his teeth. “How can a manager tell his star player to lose?!” he wondered to himself.

“Well, guess that makes it my turn again, so stand back!” Jaden drew a card. “Sweet, I play Elemental Hero Bubbleman. And he gets lonely, so when I summon him and he’s alone on my field I can draw two more cards.” Doing just that, Jaden looked at his hand and a quick plan came together. “I’ll throw down a facedown and now play this, the spell The Warrior Returning Alive. This brings back Sparkman. And next I play Polymerization! How about that?”

AP just stared at Jaden, the serene smile never leaving his face. His eyes meeting Jaden’s gaze head on.

“Well this should get a reaction from you. I fuse Bubbleman, Avian and Sparkman to form Elemental Hero Tempest!” Jaden’s fusion monster appeared on the field and pointed its blaster at the opponent. “Ready, attack Tempest!”

Tempest did just that, swinging the blaster around, it was pointed at the opposing monster. A blue light gathered at the end of the weapon and Tempest unleashed the full force of its attack. Everyone leaned forward, watching.

“And to keep Tempest from being destroyed, all I have to do is send one of my field cards to the graveyard, and he can’t be destroyed in battle. But I can’t say the same for your monster,” Jaden announced. 

The blast connected and AP’s monster vanished. AP brought an arm up to shield his face, and his eyes narrowed. The smile on his face, turned into a smirk as he watched Jaden.

“Next I play Defusion. This turns Tempest back into Avian, Bubbleman and Sparkman.” The monsters all appeared on his field, poised for attack. “Bubbleman, you’re up first, attack him!” Bubbleman did just that, and AP grit his teeth in a glare. “Avian, Quill Cascade!” The feathered hero did, and once again AP tried to shield his face. “Now, Sparkman, you finish him off with Static Shockwave!”

“Argh!” AP yelled out as the electricity connected with him.

With that final blow, his lifepoints hit zero and he sank to the ground. Everyone was cheering for Jaden, he pulled out a victory. Well almost everyone, Zane looked down and narrowed his eyes. He recognized Aster and could tell this was a flimsy excuse for a duel. Something was up, and he was going to find out what.

“That’s game, nice job!” Jaden exclaimed as he walked up and helped AP to his feet.

“Right back at you, well I’m going to get going. It was nice to meet all of you,” he called out and waved.

The four students and Ms. Dorothy walked up and smiled at him. Everyone shook his hand, and he did the same. Exchanging pleasantries he turned around and walked away. One last time his eyes went up the cliff side and connected with narrowed teal ones. A smirk crossed his face, and he did a little wave to the two at the top.

“Hey Zane, Atticus, you guys saw that?!” Jaden called out.

AP turned around and saw Jaden waving at them. The brunette slid down the cliff side and walked up to Jaden. Giving him a high five. “Not bad.”

“Thanks Atticus!” Jaden said.

With the names of the two people who caught his eye filed away AP made his way away from the shore. He didn’t make it far however. The one he was sure was called Zane cut him off. Standing tall, with his arms crossed over his chest, he narrowed his eyes at him again.

“Something you need?” AP asked.

“Drop the act, you’re not a student here,” Zane bit out.

“What makes you say that? I am in fact enrolled here. You can check with any of the instructors.” He tried for the innocent look. But the way Zane’s mouth turned down, he wasn’t buying it.

“That’s not what I meant. Calling yourself ‘AP’, not very subtle. You’re a professional duelist, one that’s a reigning champ and you come to Duel Academy?” Zane pushed.

“So you know who I am? Well then, just say my name,” he challenged.

“All right Aster Phoenix, you want to play that game? Why are you here?” Zane snapped out. He tried to make an intimidating picture, but with Pharaoh rubbing against his leg, it was difficult.

“I’m here because my destiny is to be here. I have to say, you and… what was his name? Atticus was it? You two certainly caught my attention standing there. Something tells me that destiny will have us dueling one another soon,” Aster replied smoothly. “So don’t go to far Zaney.”

With that parting comment, Aster strode around Zane and walked away. All the while, thinking about why Sartorius had him lose to Jaden. Wondering if his destiny was going to collide with Zane and Atticus while he was here. 

“Things certainly are going to get interesting here,” Aster muttered. Striding along the trail, his hands in his pockets, he vanished from Zane’s sight.

Grinding his teeth, Zane blew out a breath and counted back from ten. Something about Aster really rubbed him wrong. His gaze went to where everyone was standing around Jaden and talking. Atticus cuffed him upside the head and tried to look stern, he managed it better than Zane would have thought.

“Watch yourself my boy. Something is off about Aster Phoenix,” Banner’s voice whispered.

“Tell me something I don’t know. I wonder if that’s why Cyber End Dragon is acting up, maybe he can sense it,” Zane whispered. Bending down, he picked up Pharaoh and walked away from the group. He needed to clear his head.

Moments later he ended up in front of the Abandoned Dorm and he glanced at it. It almost felt like some strange force was pulling at him from there. He stared at it, feeling a fog roll in on his mind. Shaking his head, he quickly turned and stalked away as fast as he could. There was something wrong with that place, and he would figure it out one day.

But for now, he thought as he walked up to Atticus in the forest, he would leave it alone. He reached his boyfriend, and leaned his head on Atticus’s shoulders, suddenly feeling drained. He heard Atticus ask if he was alright, and he nodded his head.

“Just drained all of a sudden. I don’t trust Aster, tell Jaden to watch himself,” Zane replied.

“I did, and let me tell you they were all shocked when I told them who he is. Apparently none of them realized who it was. I’m so disappointed in all of them,” Atticus sighed. He wrapped an arm around Zane and steered him toward their dorm. “Well let’s get you to bed, not to sound mean, but you look dead on your feet.”

“Well, I feel like it. My head hurts, I think I have a migraine coming on,” Zane confessed.

“Well let’s stop by the infirmary first then. I’m sure Nurse Fontaine will be willing to give you something,” Atticus whispered. He leaned in and kissed Zane’s head.

“Yeah, then I want to lay down and forget little arrogant shits like Aster Phoenix,” Zane muttered. Pharaoh meowed in agreement and Atticus laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guess who managed to write this so much faster than she thought?! I watched the episode one day on lunch and then started writing when I got home. I am so excited for this book. So what do you all think of Aster's first appearance. He starts out like a little shit that he is, but he will improve. What do you think of him making note of BOTH Zane and Atticus? Any predictions? As always, thoughts and predictions welcome. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Stay safe and healthy everyone.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is chapter one! I had this partly written before I even finished book one. I hope you guys enjoy it. What do you think of Jaden really becoming the school's top duelist? To me, it should have been. So since both Atticus and Zane graduated, it was natural for my story. Think they can manage a somewhat normal year here? I am still unsure about the title, so I'm open to suggestions. But it fits for now. This will more than likely be a weekly update, as I have to watch the DVD of season 2. If possible I will try for twice a week, but plan on once a week for now. What do you all think? As always thoughts and predictions welcome. Stay safe and healthy everyone.


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